IBM SAN768B-2 and SAN384B-2 Fabric Backbones With 16Gb FC Connectivity

IBM System Storage SAN768B-2 and SAN384B-2 fabric backbones are FC switching infrastructure, providing reliable, scalable, high-performance foundations for private cloud storage and virtualized environments.

     
IBM System Storage SAN768B-2

They are designed to:

• Enable simpler, flatter, low-latency chassis connectivity to reduce network complexity, management, and costs
• Increase business agility while providing access to information and reducing infrastructure and administrative costs
• Support of private cloud storage with improved scalability, performance, and reliability

SAN768B-2 and SAN384B-2 are designed to address key requirements while helping to protect investments already made by the deployment of existing SANs, servers, storage hardware, and advanced functions:

• Support 2, 4, 8, 10, and 16 Gbps FC and FCIP, as well as advanced fabric services and management tools
• Include up to 384 (SAN768B-2) or 192 (SAN384B-2) 16 Gbps universal (E, F, D, M, and EX) FC ports using 32- or 48-port FC blades, or up to 512 (SAN768B-2) or 256 (SAN384B-2) 8 Gbps universal (E, F, M, and EX) FC ports using 64-port 8 Gbps FC blades
• Deliver forward and backward compatibility with 8 and 16 Gbps IBM System Storage SAN director, switch, and router models

SAN768B-2 and SAN384B-2 are connecting distributed data centers enabled for data mobility and advanced data protection solutions. These fabric backbones include integrated metro and global SAN extensions designed to provide application agility, flexible business continuity, and disaster recovery solutions.

These fabric backbones:

• Optimize data center connectivity over distance with integrated high-performance metro and global connectivity
• Simplify and centralize end-to-end SAN management with diagnostics, monitoring, and automation
• Maximize performance for I/O- and bandwidth-intensive applications with more than seven times the performance of competitive offerings
• Protect investments in existing SAN fabrics and automation tools while reducing operational costs and minimizing business disruption

Key prerequisites

• The IBM Systems Storage SAN b-type switch family supports FC connectivity for servers and storage. SAN768B-2 and SAN384B-2 support all features and functions listed and require Fabric OS level 7.0.0, and later.

Planned availability date

• August 26, 2011